Banksy artwork stolen from outside Pompidou Centre in Paris

A stencilled work by the elusive British street artist Banksy has been stolen from outside the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the modern art museum announced Tuesday.

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The image, which appeared in June 2018 on the back of a sign for the museum’s car park, features a masked rat Banksy’s avatar, symbolising the downtrodden brandishing a utility knife, the instrument he uses to cut out his stencils.

The Pompidou Centre said it suspected the thieves of using a saw to cut the sign, which had been fitted with a plexiglass cover to prevent it being pilfered.

It said the museum’s security guards had already caught thieves trying to snatch the work a year ago.

The Pompidou, which houses Europe’s biggest collection of contemporary art but does not own the Banksy work, said it had filed a police complaint for destruction of property.